The impact of work-family programs on the relationship between gender diversity and performance

Work–family programs signal an employer's perspective on gender diversity to employees, and can influence whether the effects of diversity on performance are positive or negative. This article tests the interactive effects of nonmanagement gender diversity and work–family programs on productivity, and management gender diversity and work–family programs on financial performance. The predictions were tested in 198 Australian publicly listed organizations using primary (survey) and secondary (publicly available) data based on a two-year time lag between diversity and performance. The findings indicate that nonmanagement gender diversity leads to higher productivity in organizations with many work–family programs, and management gender diversity leads to lower financial performance in organizations with few work–family programs. The results suggest different business cases at nonmanagement and management levels for the adoption of work–family programs in gender-diverse organizations.

Evaluation of the potential impact of the global economic crisis on HIV epidemics in Southeast Asia

Economic conditions around the world are likely to deteriorate in the short to medium term. The potential impact of this crisis on the spread of HIV is not clear. Government revenues and aid flows from international donors may face constraints, possibly leading to reductions in funding for HIV programs. Economic conditions (leading to increases in unemployment, for example) may also have an indirect impact on HIV epidemics by affecting the behaviour of individual people. Some behavioural changes may influence the rate of HIV transmission. This report presents findings from a study that investigates the potential impact of the economic crisis on HIV epidemics through the use of mathematical modelling. The potential epidemiological impacts of changes in the economy are explored for two distinctly characterised HIV epidemics: (i) a well-defined, established, and generalised HIV epidemic (specifically Cambodia, where incidence is declining); (ii) an HIV epidemic in its early expansion phase (specifically Papua New Guinea, where incidence has not yet peaked). Country-specific data are used for both settings and the models calibrated to accurately reflect the unique HIV epidemics in each population in terms of both incidence and prevalence. Models calibrated to describe the past and present epidemics are then used to forecast epidemic trajectories over the next few years under assumptions that behavioural or program conditions may change due to economic conditions. It should be noted that there are very limited solid data on how HIV/AIDS program funds may decrease or how social determinants related to HIV risk may change due to the economic crisis. Potential changes in key relevant factors were explored, along with sensitivity ranges around these assumptions, based on extensive discussions with in-country and international experts and stakeholders. As with all mathematical models, assumptions should be reviewed critically and results interpreted cautiously.

What impact might the economic crisis have on HIV epidemics in Southeast Asia?

Objective: To evaluate the potential impact of the current global economic crisis (GEC) on the spread of HIV. Design: To evaluate the impact of the economic downturn we studied two distinct HIV epidemics in Southeast Asia: the generalized epidemic in Cambodia where incidence is declining and the epidemic in Papua New Guinea (PNG) which is in an expansion phase. Methods: Major HIV-related risk factors that may change due to the GEC were identified and a dynamic mathematical transmission model was developed and used to forecast HIV prevalence, diagnoses, and incidence in Cambodia and PNG over the next 3 years. Results: In Cambodia, the total numbers of HIV diagnoses are not expected to be largely affected. However, an estimated increase of up to 10% in incident cases of HIV, due to potential changes in behavior, may not be observed by the surveillance system. In PNG, HIV incidence and diagnoses could be more affected by the GEC, resulting in respective increases of up to 17% and 11% over the next 3 years. Decreases in VCT and education programs are the factors that may be of greatest concern in both settings. A reduction in the rollout of antiretroviral therapy could increase the number of AIDS-related deaths (by up to 7.5% after 3 years). Conclusions: The GEC is likely to have a modest impact on HIV epidemics. However, there are plausible conditions under which the economic downturns can noticeably influence epidemic trends. This study highlights the high importance of maintaining funding for HIV programs.

Travel Journalism : Exploring Production, Impact and Culture

Travel journalism has experienced enormous growth over recent decades, with a record number of media organizations now involved in producing information for tourists in one way or another. Correspondingly, journalism and media scholars have begun to pay more attention to this phenomenon. This book gives a comprehensive overview of the burgeoning field of travel journalism studies. The contributors explore travel journalism in newspapers and magazines, on television and online, across a wide range of national and cultural contexts. Individual chapters provide critical discussions of theoretical approaches, present studies of production, content and impact, and explain how travel journalism can be understood through the lenses of postcolonialism, sustainability and cosmopolitanism. This fascinating account offers a thoroughly international and interdisciplinary perspective on an increasingly important field of journalism scholarship.

Get a life? The impact of the European working time directive : the case of UK senior doctors

This paper seeks to identify the effect of the implementation of the European Working Time Directive (EWTD) on the working hours of UK doctors. The Labour Force Survey is used to compare the working hours of doctors with a variety of control groups before and after the implementation of the directive. The controls include those unconstrained by the directive and doctor counterparts working in Europe. We use differences-in-differences and matching methods to estimate the impact of this natural experiment, distinguishing between the anticipation and enactment of the EWTD. We find that the legislation reduced the hours of senior doctors by around 8 hours in total including the component attributable to anticipation effects and allowing for (exogenously set) rising wages.

The rise of englightened shareholder primacy and its impact on US corporate self-regulation

Enlightened shareholder primacy (“ESP”) is a new approach in the corporate governance (“CG”) framework. The emergence of this approach is important owing to its role in answering a vital question: is the company really a private organisation to be seen only through the economic prism of contract? Or is it public and about a wider group of interests and underwritten by communitarian concern about social responsibility? Apart from answering this question, ESP explains the changes in corporate directors’ roles and self-regulation strategies of companies.

OHS inspectors and psychosocial risk factors: Evidence from Australia

Legislation giving prominence to psychosocial risk factors at work has changed the role of government occupational health and safety (OHS) inspectors in many countries. Yet little is known about how inspectorates have responded to these changes. Between 2003 and 2007 an Australian study was undertaken on OHS standards, entailing detailed documentary analysis, interviews with 36 inspectorate managers and 89 inspectors, and observations made when researchers accompanied inspectors on 120 typical workplace visits. Our study found that general duty provisions in OHS legislation clearly incorporated psychosocial hazards and inspectorates had introduced guidance material, pursued campaigns and increased interventions in this area. However, the regulatory framework remained narrow (focused on bullying/harassment, occupational violence and work stress) and workplace visits revealed psychosocial hazards as a marginal area of inspectorate activity. These findings were reinforced in interviews. While aware of psychosocial hazards inspectors often saw the issue as problematic due to limited training, resourcing constraints, deficiencies in regulation and fears of victimisation amongst workers. In order to address these problems a number of changes are required that recognize the distinctiveness of psychosocial hazards including their ‘invisibility’. Notable here are revisions to regulation (both general duty provisions and specific codes), the development of comprehensive guidance and assessment tools to be used by inspectors, greater use of procedural enforcement, and enhanced inspectorate resourcing and training. There is also a need to recognize complex inter-linkages between psychosocial hazards and the industrial relations context.

The impact of a congestion pricing exemption on the demand for new energy efficient vehicles in Stockholm

As governments seek to transition to more efficient vehicle fleets, one strategy has been to incentivize ‘green’ vehicle choice by exempting some of these vehicles from road user charges. As an example, to stimulate sales of Energy-Efficient Vehicles (EEVs) in Sweden, some of these automobiles were exempted from Stockholm’s congestion tax. In this paper the effect this policy had on the demand for new, privately-owned, exempt EEVs is assessed by first estimating a model of vehicle choice and then by applying this model to simulate vehicle alternative market shares under different policy scenarios. The database used to calibrate the model includes owner-specific demographics merged with vehicle registry data for all new private vehicles registered in Stockholm County during 2008. Characteristics of individuals with a higher propensity to purchase an exempt EEV were identified. The most significant factors included intra-cordon residency (positive), distance from home to the CBD (negative), and commuting across the cordon (positive). By calculating vehicle shares from the vehicle choice model and then comparing these estimates to a simulated scenario where the congestion tax exemption was inactive, the exemption was estimated to have substantially increased the share of newly purchased, private, exempt EEVs in Stockholm by 1.8% (+/- 0.3%; 95% C.I.) to a total share of 18.8%. This amounts to an estimated 10.7% increase in private, exempt EEV purchases during 2008 i.e. 519 privately owned, exempt EEVs.

The impact of Cool Roof applications on energy performance : results from Australian sub-tropical and tropical field studies

Cool roof coatings are identified by their solar reflectance index. They have been reported to have multiple benefits, the extent of which are strongly dependent on the peculiarities of the local climate, building stock and electricity network. This paper presents measured and simulated data from residential, educational and commercial buildings involved in recent field trials in Australia. The purpose of the field trials was to evaluate the impact of such coatings on electricity demand and load and to assess their potential application to improve comfort whilst avoiding the need for air conditioners. Measured reductions in temperature, power (kW) and energy (kWh) were used to develop a predictive model that correlates ambient temperature distribution profiles, building demand reduction profiles and electricity network peak demand times. Combined with simulated data, the study indicates the types of buildings that could be targeted in Demand Management programs for the mutual benefit of electricity networks and building occupants.

Family structure and change through middle childhood : the impact on children's adjustment and achievement

This research project investigated the influence of family transitions on children's adjustment and school achievement across the primary school years, in single-parent, re-partnered and two-parent families. The quality of children's relationships with parents, teachers and peers were predictive of more positive outcomes, regardless of family structure. The research analysed data from the Kindergarten Cohort participating in Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. Across the age span of the children studied, cumulative effects of any residential or school changes, or decreased family income, associated with family transitions, were more likely to predict poorer child outcomes in behaviour adjustment and school achievement.

The impact of transformative learning in a critical service-learning program on teacher development: Building a foundation for inclusive teaching

With international and national policies requiring teachers to adopt inclusive practices worldwide, this paper examines the impact of transformational learning in a critical service-learning program on final-year pre-service teachers’ approaches to inclusive teaching. Data from emailed questionnaires and focus group interviews are analysed through a social, critical framework. The results indicate that the critical service-learning program provided the students with an opportunity to consider diversity and inclusion in selecting teaching strategies, and to enact values suitable to inclusive practices and appreciation of diversity in schools. In this paper we argue that transformative learning experiences about inclusivity and diversity are needed if pre-service teachers are to be challenged to adopt inclusive values and practice in schools. A critical service-learning program for pre-service teachers provides a solid foundation on which to develop or build on the ability to think and teach inclusively.

Consumer misbehavior: a concurrent look at the impact that the size of the victim and size of the loss have on opinions regarding the acceptance or unacceptance of 12 questionable consumer actions

This study examines the role that the size of a victimised organisation and the size of the victim’s loss have on attitudes regarding the acceptance or unacceptance of 12 questionable consumer actions. A sample of 815 American adults rated each scenario on a scale anchored by very acceptable and very unacceptable. It was shown that the size of the victimised organisation tends to influence consumers’ opinions with more disdain directed towards consumers who take advantage of smaller businesses. Similarly, the respondents tended to be more critical of these actions when the loss incurred by the victimised organisation was large. A 2x2 matrix concurrently delineated the nature of the extent to which opinions regarding the 12 actions differed depending upon the mediating variable under scrutiny.

The impact of incidents on macroscopic fundamental diagrams

The macroscopic fundamental diagram (MFD) traffic modelling method has been proved for large urban roads and freeway networks, but hysteresis and scatter have been found in both such networks. This paper investigates how incident variables affect the shape and scatter of the MFD using both simulated data and real data collected from the M3 Pacific motorway in Brisbane, Australia. Three key components of incidents are investigated based on the simulated data (i.e. incident location, incident duration and traffic demand). The results based on simulated data indicate that the diagram shape is a property not only of the network itself but also of the incident variables. Diagrams for three types of real incidents (crash, hazard and vehicle breakdown) are explored separately. The results based on the empirical data are consistent with the simulated results. The hysteresis phenomenon occurs both upstream and downstream of the incident location, but for opposite hysteresis loops. The gradient of the upstream diagram is greater than that downstream on the incident site, when traffic demand is for an off-peak period.

The influence of psychosocial factors on expectations and persistent symptom report after mild traumatic brain injury

This thesis examines how psychosocial factors influence the report of persistent symptoms after mild traumatic brain injury. Using quasi-experimental methods, the research program demonstrates how factors unrelated to trauma-induced physiological brain damage can contribute to persistent symptoms after a mild traumatic brain injury. The results of this thesis highlight the possibility that outcome from mild traumatic brain injury could be improved by targeting psychosocial factors.

Just what the doctor ordered? Investigating the impact of health service quality on consumer misbehaviour

The growth in demand and expenditure currently being experienced in the Australian health sector is also accompanied by a rise in dysfunctional customer behaviour, such as verbal abuse and physical violence, perpetrated against health service providers. While service failure and poor recovery are known to trigger consumer misbehaviour, this study investigates whether lower than expected perceived service quality generates cognitive and emotional appraisals that trigger two common forms of misbehaviour: refusal to participate and verbal abuse. Data were collected using a 2 × 2 between-subjects experiment administered via online written survey and analysed using path modelling. The findings indicate that perceptions of service encounter quality have an indirect effect on whether consumers refuse to participate in the service and/or verbally abuse the service provider through the mediating effect of anger.